Santa Castle
by LittleLizzieZentara
Summary: Secret Santa 2011 story for animallvr4eva
1. Chapter 1

**This is the Secret Santa 2011 story for animallvr4eva**

**Disclaimer: Since they haven't done a Christmas episode yet, I obviously don't own this most wonderful of shows.**

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><p>"So how did you talk Gates into going along with this?" Kate asked Castle as she watched the writer carry a three foot tall pine tree into the break room of the precinct.<p>

"Are you saying you doubt my ability to charm the ladies, Beckett?" Castle's eyes were sparkling with mischief as he turned to the detective with a smirk on his lips.

"You, charm the Captain?" Kate couldn't contain her giggle at the thought. "Not in a million years, Castle."

"I'm hurt at your lack of faith in my abilities, detective," Castle said with a pout.

"I think your ego can take it." Kate rolled her eyes and shook her head at her partner's childish reaction.

"Where do you want this, Castle?" Ryan asked, a red metal tree stand in one hand and a box of Christmas decorations in the other.

"Over at the corner," Castle said, gesturing to the direction he meant. As soon as Ryan set the metal object down, Castle set the tree inside. Once he got the tree stabilized, he looked back over at Kate. "So, what do you think?"

"It's leaning a little to the left," Kate said. Castle slightly adjusted the position of the tree and looked inquiringly at Kate, who nodded that the tree was now straight.

"Did the Captain say we could decorate the whole precinct?" Kate wanted to know when Esposito came into the break room a few moments later with a huge box in his hands.

"Nope, just the break room," Castle said as he hunkered down by the box Ryan had brought in, taking out a string of holly and setting it on the table. He pulled out three more strings of the festive plant, setting them next to the first string.

"Good grief, Castle!" Kate exclaimed when Lanie and Jenny entered the room a minute later, both carrying boxes that Kate was sure were filled with more Christmas decorations.

"Ah, the music is here," Castle said, taking the box from Lanie's hands. He set it on the floor near the espresso machine and pulled out a portable CD player. He plugged it in and strains of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" filled the room.

"What singer is that?" Esposito asked.

"You've never heard of Andrea Bocelli?" Castle asked, shocked.

"What is that, opera? I didn't think you were the kind to go for opera, Castle," Ryan said.

Kate was surprised that Castle listened to the Italian tenor. She had enjoyed the musician for years; she had even taught herself a couple of his songs on her guitar. But it hadn't occurred to her that Castle would share that particular interest with her. She smiled when she heard a group of kids join Bocelli in singing the song. Castle enjoying listening to kids sing didn't surprise her at all.

"It's not opera," Kate said. "He's kind of a cross between opera and modern."

"Huh," Ryan said.

"Here, you and Esposito can hang the holly," Lanie said, taking the strings from the table and handing them to Ryan. Exchanging a look and a shrug, the two male detectives went to work on hanging the greenery.

"So, where's the mistletoe, Castle?" Lanie asked, searching in the box where the holly had been.

"Wanting your Christmas kiss, Lanie?" Castle asked with a playful smirk. "You don't need mistletoe for that. All you have to do is ask."

Kate could feel herself scowling. Castle and Lanie occasionally flirted, but it bothered Kate a lot more than it used to. She didn't want to dwell too much on why that was.

Castle had never mentioned wanting to kiss Lanie, however. Kate wasn't entirely sure what she would do if that ever happened. She clenched her fists as she watched Castle walk over to the M.E. Looking out of the corner of her eye, Kate noticed that Esposito didn't look too happy, either.

"Not for me, Castle," Lanie said. She looked pointedly over at Kate and smiled slyly.

"If she doesn't want it, I'll take it."

Kate was barely able to stifle a groan. That voice had been grating on her nerves for weeks, ever since Barbra Trenton, the newest robbery detective, had arrived at the precinct. She was aptly named, for the woman looked like a life size Barbie doll, with waist length blonde hair, blue eyes and a figure that mirrored the popular toy. She was Tom Demming's new partner on the force. Kate wouldn't care if the woman had kept to the robbery division. Instead, the new detective had made a play for Castle on almost a daily basis ever since she'd arrived. Thankfully Kate had been able to interrupt the pair with case-related issues each time things had gotten remotely personal between the two.

"I'll have to find the mistletoe first," Castle said to Barbra with his 'greeting fans' smile. Kate bit back her own smile when Castle made no attempt to find the mistletoe, but instead started pulling ornaments out of one of the boxes.

Castle's love of science fiction and fantasy was evident in the objects he put next to the tree. There were ornaments that depicted Yoda from Star Wars, Spock from Star Trek, a UFO that looked like the ship from Forbidden Planet and the marshmallow ghost from Ghostbusters. And that was just the first few ornaments that Castle took out of the box. As Kate had suspected, the box was full of them. After all those ornaments were out, Castle went over to one of the other boxes and pulled out ornaments that were more traditional-bright green, red and gold bulbs, candy canes, gingerbread men and snowflakes. Lastly he pulled out some multi-colored lights, which Jenny helped him put on the tree.

"Come on, Kate, the tree isn't going to decorate itself," Castle teased, handing her an ornament. Kate almost dropped it when she realized that he had given her one that portrayed Han Solo and Princess Leia kissing.

Forcing herself to keep her hand steady, Kate put the ornament on a branch at the very back of the tree. That was _not _something she needed to be looking at for the time the Christmas decorations would be up.

Not wanting to take a chance that Castle would give her another embarrassing ornament, Kate took another one out of the box, relieved that it was a harmless depiction of C-3PO.

"Is there something we can help you with, Trenton?" Kate asked when she noticed that the other female detective had made no move to leave.

"I have the notes for the Snelling case," Barbara said, referring to the case involving a robbery and double homicide that had just been wrapped up that morning. "But I can see that you are all busy, so it can wait."

"Why don't you stay and help?" Castle asked. "After all, the more the merrier."

Barbara sent a triumphant smile Kate's way and took a few bulbs to hang on the tree.

It took almost a half hour for the two female detectives and Castle to finish decorating the tree. Kate had forced herself to keep her distance from the other two, refusing to even glance at the pair any more than necessary.

Conversations between the others swirled around Kate. Any of the light-hearted feelings she'd had about decorating the precinct with the gang had vanished with Barbara's arrival.

"Found it!" Castle cried suddenly, holding up the mistletoe.

Kate had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed that he had resumed looking for the plant that had suddenly become her least favorite Christmas decoration.

Kate looked up just in time to see Barbara make her way over to Castle. The other woman's lack of subtlety amazed Kate. Although she really should have expected it, considering how even the first time she had met Castle Barbara had acted like a stereotypical fan girl slash writer groupie. She had barely stopped short of asking Castle to sign her chest. If the robbery detective had asked Castle to do that, Kate wasn't sure what she would have done.

Kate still wasn't sure what to do as she watched Barbara put her hands on Castle's shoulders while Castle lowered his head. She could feel herself shaking with the effort it took to keep herself from tackling the woman and ordering her to not get within a hundred feet of Castle ever again.

A loud buzz startled the pair and both Barbara and Castle jumped.

Kate recognized the sound. She didn't know if it was a drill or the real thing, but the fire alarm didn't cause her to do anything more than blink.

"Come on, Castle," Kate said, grabbing the writer's hand and tugging him towards the door.

Castle, having been at the precinct long enough to have been involved in a few fire drills, simply followed her as he usually did.

The few inches of snow on the ground that greeted the group once they made their way outside made Kate wonder where her normal observational skills had been for the last hour. Although the temperature had been below freezing, the sky had been clear a few hours ago, the last time she had been outside of the precinct.

Kate was glad to see that Barbara was with the other members of the robbery division. When she saw Castle glance over at the blonde, Kate's reaction was immediate. She bent down, gathered some snow in her hands and quickly made a snowball. Not even bothering to look, Kate threw it at Castle. The white ball of snow hit him squarely in the chest before breaking, the snow creating a thin cloud of white as it drifted back to the ground.

"Snow ball fight!" Ryan cried.

In seconds snowballs were flying. No one bothered to form teams. Instead, each person simply threw snow at whomever they could hit with the cold white powder.

Kate laughed as Lanie hit Esposito in the leg. Esposito grinned at her and threw a snowball that hit her in the arm. Castle, not to be outdone, threw two snowballs, one hitting Ryan in the back and the other hitting Kate in the knee. Ryan threw a snowball that went wild and everyone gasped when it hit Captain Gates. Thankfully, it exploded harmlessly on her booted foot.

"Sorry, Captain," Ryan said sheepishly.

Captain Gates merely nodded at the Irish detective. "No harm in letting off a little steam," she said, a small smile forming on her lips at the stunned reaction of her team. "Carry on."

With that, the captain walked away, leaving the others to their impromptu winter play.

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><p>The next day was a day off for Kate, so she and Lanie decided they would spend the day shopping. Kate had gotten Jenny in the Secret Santa draw that Castle had talked everyone into participating in when they returned to the break room to finish decorating. She had no idea whose name Lanie had drawn; she just hoped it wasn't Esposito. Things were still strained between the two, and Kate didn't want her friend to have to feel awkward at Castle's Christmas party the following Saturday.<p>

The friends decided to go to their favorite mall, one of the smaller ones near Remy's. Kate had never made a big deal over Christmas since her mom had died, but she loved to be out in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. She had always been a people watcher, and she loved the excitement in the air. Although every bit as often it was an air of rush and panic, but Kate never let herself dwell on that. She always had plenty of time to accomplish the little she did to celebrate the season, so she just let herself relax and enjoy.

"So girl, when are you going to tell Castle?" Lanie said after the pair had been browsing the shops for a little over an hour.

"Tell Castle what?" Kate asked. The question seemed to have come out of nowhere, but the detective doubted that was the case. Chances were that Lanie's mind had been on her and Castle off and on for most of the morning.

"That you don't want him to go out with the cop Barbie, of course," Lanie said.

Kate couldn't scold Lanie for using the derogatory term; not when she had been the first to use it when she'd told her friend about the new detective's reaction to meeting Castle.

Kate sighed. "He's free to date whomever he wants, Lanie," she said quietly.

"You sure about that?" Lanie asked. "From what I saw yesterday, Castle dating someone else would bother you a lot more than you want to admit."

The memory of Castle and Barbara standing under that mistletoe, seconds away from kissing, flashed through Kate's mind.

"You're right," she shocked Lanie by saying. "I can't stand the thought of him with someone else. I just-"

"You just what, honey?" Lanie asked.

"I don't know how to tell him," she whispered.

Lanie's eyes lit up and a beaming grin graced her lips. "I do," she said gleefully.

Kate was confused by Lanie's attitude. The M.E. knew all about Kate's difficulty with expressing her emotions, particularly to Castle. Why was Lanie now acting like it would suddenly be easy for Kate to get the words out?

"How?"

"You should talk to Santa," Lanie said.

Kate's eyes widened.

Talk to Santa?

She couldn't be serious.

There was no _way _Kate could spill her heart out to some strange man. Talking to her therapist was bad enough.

"Kate, I really think you should talk to Santa," Lanie insisted.

"Lanie, I am not going to..." Kate's voice trailed off as she looked closely at the man sitting in a big red chair, two young kids on his lap. She would recognize those blue eyes anywhere.

It was Castle!

Lanie was right. She definitely needed to talk to Santa.

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><p>Kate couldn't believe she was really going to do this. But she had been standing in line for over an hour, enduring the frowns of parents and laughter of the kids around her. And she hadn't chickened out.<p>

She could do this.

Finally, Kate made it to the front of the line. On shaking legs she approached Castle.

"So who do we have here?" Castle said, obviously not having noticed Kate's presence just yet. He looked down, where Kate was sure he was expecting to see another child. His gaze swept upward and his jaw dropped in shock. "Kate?" he squeaked out.

"Hello, Santa," Kate greeted him with what she hoped was a flirty smile. "I know I'm a little old for this, but there's something I _really _want for Christmas, and it's something only you could give me."

Castle's eyes widened and for a brief moment he had the look on his face that he always got when his mind was filled with a new Kate fantasy. After a moment he blinked and smiled. "Well then by all means, come sit on Santa's lap and tell me all about it."

Her eyes sparkling with the humor she was barely able to suppress, Kate situated herself on Castle's lap.

"So what can Santa bring for you this year?" Castle asked.

"I need an outfit," Kate started.

"An outfit?" Castle's tone clearly expressed his confusion.

"Mmmhmm," Kate murmured. "A very _special _outfit."

Castle gulped. "What," he cleared his throat when his voice cracked, "kind of outfit would you like Santa to bring you?"

"It has to be red," Kate began.

Castle's dazed look made Kate want to laugh.

"But the boots definitely have to be black leather," Kate continued.

Castle shook his head to clear it and met Kate's gaze with his blue eyes dark with a fire that threatened to spill out at any moment.

"What material do you want the red outfit to be made of?" Castle asked.

"Velvet," Kate said. "It has to be velvet. With a white furry trim."  
>Castle said each word like it was its own separate sentence. "White. Furry. Trim?"<p>

"Mmmhmm," Kate said, slowly licking her upper lip, drawing Castle's gaze to her mouth.

"Anything else?" Castle asked, tightening his arm around Kate's shoulders.

"Oh yeah," Kate said. "It's the most important part."

Kate could feel Castle tense as he asked, "And what would that be?"

"A gray wig," Kate said.

"A gray-" Castle's eyes narrowed in confusion, "wig?"

"How else am I going to be able to be Mrs. Claus?" Kate asked, forcing her tone to remain light.

"Santa?" Kate said after a few moments when Castle didn't move a muscle. "Do you think you'll be able to help me out?"

Castle turned a beaming smile on Kate. "I can definitely fulfill that request," he promised.

Kate didn't even try to fight the loving smile she bestowed on him. She knew that her expression probably mirrored the one she had worn when she'd found Castle safe inside the blown up bank. This time, she didn't force herself to restrain her impulse to kiss him, but mindful of Castle's current role and the children all around, Kate only allowed herself to kiss him on the cheek.

At that moment, a camera light flashed.

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><p>Kate couldn't believe that Castle acted as if nothing had happened the next day. And the next. And the day after that. All week long, Castle was his normal easy-going self, building theory with her and backing her up during interrogations. He didn't even drop the frequent innuendos that were practically his trademark.<p>

By the night of Castle's party, Kate was a bundle of nerves. Had she pushed things too far? Had she freaked him out and ruined everything?

What if Castle thought she was expecting a marriage proposal and the whole idea horrified him?

By the time Lanie arrived to pick her up, Kate was fighting a full-blown panic attack. Doubts bombarded her mind. Not doubts about wanting a future with Castle, but doubts that he wanted a future with her.

Lanie, recognizing the signs of such a condition, asked if she should call Castle.

Kate knew why her friend would ask such a thing. Under normal circumstances, Castle would be able to calm her down faster than anyone. When she allowed him to.

But now...

Kate forced herself to take some deep, slow breaths. After a couple minutes, she was able to calm herself enough to at least be able to leave her apartment.

When they reached Castle's building, Kate felt another attack start. It took more than ten minutes for her to be able to force herself to get out of the car.

"Everything will be fine, honey," Lanie assured her friend as they got into the elevator.

"But Lanie, what if you're wrong?" Kate asked worriedly. "What if I'm wrong? What if everyone is wrong?"

"We're not, sweetie," Lanie said, giving her friend a quick hug before the elevator doors opened. "Trust me."

Kate nodded and led her friend to the door of Castle's loft. Castle opened the door, immediately gathering Kate into his arms and giving her a huge hug. Not a side hug, but a full frontal hug where her head rested for a brief moment against his chest.

The feeling of Castle's arms around her caused all of Kate's fear to drain away. She knew the man well enough to know that he wasn't the type to play with a woman's emotions. If his feelings had changed over the past few months, he would have kept his distance. Especially after what Kate had not so subtly hinted at when she'd been sitting on 'Santa's' lap.

"Darling, we're so glad you're here," Martha said, giving Kate a brief hug once Castle had let her go. "And Dr. Parrish, so nice to see you again. Welcome."

"We have hot chocolate, eggnog, and apple cider," Alexis called from the kitchen. "Which would you like?"

"Or we have wine," Castle said. "But Alexis is in charge of the non-alcoholic beverages."

"Eggnog sounds good," Lanie said.

Kate knew that alcohol would be a bad idea, so she parroted Lanie's choice.

Holding Christmas mugs decorated with candy canes, Lanie and Kate joined the others in the family room. Within the next twenty minutes all of the guests had arrived-Castle had uncharacteristically decided to keep things small this year and there was only the gang at the precinct and Alexis and Martha.

Nerves hit Kate when Castle finally said that it was time for the Secret Santa exchange. What would Castle have gotten her if he drew her name?

Jenny loved the matching white furry earmuffs, gloves and scarf that Kate had gotten her. Esposito, who had gotten Ryan, had given the man a bottle of his favorite wine, along with a jar of honey. The group laughed at the reference to Ryan's nickname, 'Honeymilk.' Ryan, who had gotten Lanie, had given the M.E. tickets to an upcoming concert where the headliner was a performer he had heard that she liked. Jenny, who had drawn Esposito's name, gave the detective a new winter coat.

Kate started to get nervous again, although thankfully she didn't have a panic attack to deal with this time. But based on who was left, Lanie had drawn either her name or Castle's name. Considering that Lanie had been there with her at the mall, Kate wasn't sure which she preferred.

When Lanie handed Castle a gift, Kate wondered at its flat size. It was like it could be-

Kate couldn't control the blush that burned her cheeks when Castle held out large framed collection of pictures. Each of those pictures where of Kate sitting on Castle's lap. With the largest one clearly showing Kate kissing 'Santa' on the cheek.

"Wow, Beckett, I didn't think you believed in Santa," Ryan joked.

"Well, a girl can change her mind, can't she?" Kate replied, smiling despite her embarrassment.

Castle took pity on Kate and quickly handed her gift to her. Kate couldn't stop the tears from welling up in her eyes when she unwrapped the package. Because Castle had 'made' her present. With a green cover with a silhouette of Nikki Heat wearing a Santa hat, was a book with the title "Christmas Heat."

Kate couldn't resist her impulse to jump up and give him a hug.

Castle had written a book for her!

Castle returned the hug, dropping a kiss on her cheek.

"Thank you, Castle," she said on a choked whisper. "I love it."

"Wow, Castle," Ryan said. "When did you ever find the time to do that?"

"It's something I've been working on off and on for the last couple years," Castle said. "It was actually the first Nikki Heat story idea I ever got. I worked on it when I needed a break from the regular novels."

A fantasy popped into Kate's mind at that moment. She and Castle were cuddled on the couch at the loft and Castle was reading "Christmas Heat" to her.

She promised herself that before the Christmas season was over, that fantasy would become reality.

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><p><strong>Once again, a story took me by surprise. I actually thought there might be a little more to this, but it just seemed like the perfect place to end it.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry about the delay in this one. First there was the busy-ness of Christmas, then I got sick, then we had a friend from out of state visit, and after more than a week, I'm still sick. But I wanted to TRY to get this out to you guys this weekend. I'm kind of shocked I was able to accomplish it. But finally, here it is.**

**Disclaimer: Hmmm, what to say...if I owned this show, I would make SURE that Kate told Castle how she felt by the end of the 13th episode. But even if that does happen, the show's still not mine. But I did find a Castle calander-yay me!**

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><p>Castle was standing under the mistletoe.<p>

_Why _was Castle standing under the mistletoe?

For half a second, Kate stood frozen at the sight. Towards the end of the impromptu decorating party at the precinct, Castle had hung the mistletoe above the doorway. Not, to Kate's surprise, in the middle, where it would have been difficult to avoid the plant and with it, the kissing custom. Instead, the writer had hung it at the right corner, where a person could easily avoid having to deal with the holiday tradition all together.

So why was Castle standing so obviously under the mistletoe now?

The chances of it being an accident weren't very high. But the chances that it had anything to do with Kate herself weren't great, either.

A little over a half hour ago Captain Gates had sent Kate to go question a suspect, insisting that Castle stayed behind. The way her boss had been treating her almost like a little kid had really started to grate on the detective's nerves. It was like the other woman wanted to make sure Kate could do her job without Castle. Kate felt her almost a decade of being on the force and the numerous awards she had won before Castle had ever started shadowing her should have been more than enough evidence for the uptight Captain.

Kate forced herself to make her way over to her desk as if nothing was out of the ordinary, not letting herself look in her partner's direction even once. Kate had made it halfway when she heard Barbara Trenton's excited voice.

"You owe me two kisses now, Castle," the blonde woman said, smiling up at the man with what Kate was sure was supposed to be a seductive smile.

Personally Kate thought it looked more predatory than anything.

Kate couldn't keep herself from quickly rising to her feet. She clenched the edge of her desk for a brief moment before deciding that this time she couldn't stand by and do nothing. It had been difficult enough to do so with Serena Kae. That woman at least had some scruples, some dignity. The same could not be said for Barbara Trenton.

Kate was only a few feet away when Castle said, "I'm flattered, but this has to stop. From now on, I'm a one-detective man."

Kate couldn't contain her gasp.

Although a part of her wanted to laugh at the way that Castle referred to himself as 'one detective _man_.' If he had wanted it to be a true parallel to Kate's own 'one writer girl' comment, he would have said 'boy.' But Kate knew Castle would never refer to himself that way. Despite all of the ways he was still like a nine-year-old on a sugar rush, Rick Castle had left his childhood years behind him a long time ago.

Castle looked over at Kate and gave her the warmest smile she had ever seen. "And I don't think Kate would be happy if I kissed anyone else," he said.

Kate didn't hesitate to loop her arm through Castle and smile back at him before turning her attention back to the other female detective. "He's right," she said, a clear warning in her green gaze, "I wouldn't."

The blonde quickly backed away from Castle, a wary expression on her face as she kept her eyes on Kate. "You should have told me sooner," she told Castle before turning and hurrying from the room.

Kate waited until the other woman was safely in the elevator before turning her attention back to her partner. "Thank you," she said her voice soft so that only Castle would hear the words.

Although his response was somewhat expected, Kate knew he meant it.

"Always."

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><p>The following week was hectic. It was enough to make Kate wish that she had asked for Christmas Eve off. She had been somewhat surprised that Castle hung around the precinct until almost 4:00pm. The detective would have thought Castle had packed Christmas Eve and Christmas day both with a variety of traditions. Instead the man had been completely focused on helping her solve the latest case.<p>

It wasn't like the days after his Christmas party, though. This time, Kate had no doubt about Castle's feelings. They hadn't had a chance to really talk, and there wasn't much that Kate would be okay with them doing at the precinct, but the man had still been able to show in numerous small ways how he felt. Not the least of which was the way that he called her 'Kate' whenever it was just the two of them. It wasn't just that he used her first name, it was the way he said it. The word sounded like an endearment. The tone he used reminded her of the first few moments they had been cuffed together back towards the beginning of the month. Whereas she had been unsettled when he had first used that tone back then, now it just made her feel, for lack of a better word, extraordinary every time he used it.

At a little after 9:00pm, Kate decided to call it a night. She had gotten a confession from a suspect shortly after Castle left and the paperwork was finally wrapped up, so there was no real reason she needed to hang around the precinct any longer.

Other than the fact that she didn't feel like going home alone to her empty apartment.

Kate was even tempted to stop over at Castle's loft but she dismissed the idea before it even fully formed in her mind. It was a family holiday, and regardless of how things had changed between them in the last few days, she didn't feel things had progressed enough for her to feel comfortable just dropping in.

An hour and a half later Kate was wearing the new Christmas pajamas her dad had gotten her, curled up on her couch with a glass of wine in one hand and Castle's 'Christmas Heat' book in the other.

Kate groaned when she heard the knock at her door. She'd never liked being interrupted when she was reading one of Castle's books.

Kate knew she shouldn't have been surprised to see Castle when she opened the door, but she was. It wasn't uncommon for the man to drop by unannounced, but she wouldn't have expected it on Christmas Eve.

Nerves hit Kate as she took in the fact that the man was wearing the Santa Claus outfit he had worn at the mall.

"Merry Christmas, Kate," Castle greeted her with a smile, his eyes twinkling with merriment. "It looks like you've already gotten a new Christmas outfit."

Kate couldn't stop the blush from warming her cheeks. If she had known that Castle was going to be coming over-she had never really thought he would actually _give_ her the outfit she had mentioned at the mall, it had just been her way of saying she was ready for a relationship-she would have never worn the festive pjs. She looked down at the nightshirt and matching bottoms. The top was white with a big mistletoe in the middle and the bottoms were the same color white covered with numerous mini-images of the Christmas plant.

It made her wonder for a moment if her dad had been not-so-subtlety hinting at something.

"Yeah, well," Kate replied, not knowing what to say. She finally settled with, "Would you like to come in?'

"Yeah, sure," Castle said. It wasn't until he was inside her apartment that saw the present that she had suspected the writer had brought with him. He gave her another of his dazzling smiles before handing the wrapped package to her.

Kate took the parcel with shaking hands. She slowly ripped off the shimmery red wrapping paper. She could tell by the large rectangular shape that the present could very well be her requested outfit. Knowing Castle, it probably was.

Kate just hoped there wasn't a ring in there, too.

Or, at least she was pretty sure she felt that way.

Kate couldn't help but laugh when the first thing she saw when she opened the box was the gray wig.

"You did say it was the most important part," Castle reminded her.

"Yes, I did," Kate said, her eyes brimming with mirth.

Next came the red velvet dress with white fluffy trim that she'd requested, and then the black leather boots.

Kate's eyes widened when she saw the small wrapped box under the boots. She shot him a questioning glance, but his calm steady gaze reassured her. A man planning to propose wouldn't look so calm, would he?

Kate opened the small present as slowly. It was a blue velvet box. A jewelry box. A box that was the perfect size for a ring.

"Castle?" Kate whispered, looking at the writer with anxious eyes.

Castle's gaze was tender as he whispered, "Go ahead and open it, Kate."

Kate shut her eyes tightly and opened the box. She gasped when she saw the ring inside. It was definitely an engagement ring, one with a beautiful emerald surrounded by eight tiny diamonds.

"I know you're not ready for this yet," Castle said as Kate continued to stare at the ring. "And I'm not asking, not yet. But Kate," he placed a hand on Kate's, causing her to glance away from the ring and meet his gaze, "you know I love you." Kate's eyes widened at that. He knew that she remembered? Then why was he doing all of this? Why wasn't he mad at her, furious even?

"Castle, I-" Kate started, but Castle shook his head.

"I understand, Kate," he said. "I didn't at first, but I know you. You needed time. You were dealing with too many emotions, too many thoughts, and you needed space. You know I'll give you space whenever you need. This ring," his finger gently stroked the emerald as he continued, "is not to pressure you, or to rush you. It's to let you know that I am completely committed to you, to us. I'm not going anywhere, I don't want anyone else. You're it for me."

Kate didn't even try to hold back the tears that shimmered in her eyes. She gently kissed the finger that Castle had on the ring and looked up at the man she loved with a loving smile. "I love you," she told him, her voice clear and sure. "And when the time comes, my answer will be yes."

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><p>Kate was nervous. She had thought that emotion would be a thing of the past. She had already faced the difficult part, finding out that Castle knew about her lying about her memory of that day at the cemetery. And she'd told him how she felt, which had been almost as nerve-wracking for her.<p>

But Kate wasn't used to expressing emotional needs to anyone. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had done so. And the need to curl up in Castle's arms and listen to him read one of his stories had morphed from a faint desire into a raging emotional need. It wasn't something she could fully explain, even to herself. She just knew that the need was there.

Castle had asked Kate to spend Christmas with him and Martha and Alexis at the loft before he had left the night he showed her the ring. He had given her the option of keeping it, whether she wanted to wear it on her finger, or on the necklace next to her mom's ring. She had been tempted, but had finally decided that she wanted Castle to keep it for the time that he would be proposing to her for real.

Kate hadn't been too surprised to see a stocking full of gifts waiting for her when she arrived at the loft a little after 7:00am. Castle had wanted her to arrive at 5:00am, but Kate knew she needed to at least attempt to have a good night's sleep.

The day had been surprisingly relaxing something Kate hadn't expected a Castle Christmas to be. There had been pancakes cut into Christmas shapes and bacon for breakfast, stockings and presents to open, which then became toys to be played with. Dinner had been a traditional turkey supper with all the trimmings. Martha and Alexis then surprised Kate by saying they were going to a movie.

Kate tried to protest, but none of the others listened.

"You need some time alone together, dear," Martha said as she opened the door, Alexis at her heels. "We'll be back in a few hours. Have fun and be sure to do anything I would do."

"Mother!" Castle's scold fell on deaf ears as Martha laughed and left.

Alexis's "Gram!" was the last thing Kate and Castle heard before the door clicked shut.

Kate knew she was blushing, but she also couldn't help grinning a little, too. It was at times like that when Kate was reminded where Castle's sense of humor came from.

"So detective, what would you like to do, now that we have the place all to ourselves?"

Rather than fluster Kate, the question made Kate's grin widen. She knew that Castle was just teasing, throwing out an innuendo like he so often did. They both knew that neither was ready for physical intimacy yet. Not that Kate was one that needed to wait for marriage, but she didn't want to rush things with Castle. She wanted to take her time and savor every moment of their developing relationship.

Castle's next words only reinforced what Kate was thinking. "We have all of the Christmas classics, if you want to cuddle and watch a movie. Or we could play laser tag. Or-"

"Actually," Kate interrupted, "I know exactly what I want to do."

"Just name it, Detective," Castle said.

Kate walked over to her purse and pulled out the copy of 'Christmas Heat' that she had put in the night before. She held the book to her chest for a brief moment, taking a deep breath. Then she turned and faced Castle, a hesitant but hopeful gleam in her eyes.

"Read to me?" she requested her voice so quiet the writer could barely hear her.

"With pleasure, Kate," Castle said. He walked over to her, gently stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers before taking the book from her hands. Taking her hand in his, he led her to the couch. He sat down and leaned back, pulling her against his chest. "How is this?" he asked, the smile evident in his voice.

"Perfect," Kate said with a contented sigh.

Castle opened the book and began.

_"Nikki Heat wondered what it was about the holiday season that made relatively rational people act so crazy. Halloween was worse, but not by much. Especially this year..."_

Kate snuggled even deeper into Castle's arms as his voice wrapped around her every bit as much as his arms did. Castle's stories had always captivated Kate, ever since the very first one she'd read shortly after her mother's murder. The words always brought her a feeling of peace and safety, much like watching episodes of Temptation Lane with her mom when Kate had been sick used to.

But add Castle's voice into the mix?

The combination had sometimes been too much for Kate's overloaded senses to take. It was one of the reasons she teased him about his outlandish theories. True, it did frustrate her when the theory was light years away from anything remotely plausible. But it had every bit as much to do with the fact that there was always a part of her that wanted to stop whatever she was doing, sit down and listen to him spin his latest idea.

It was when Castle started spinning a drawn-out theory, when he really got into telling a story, that Kate couldn't keep up the facade. She knew her expression gave her away far more often than it should.

_"Heat knew Rook was probably hoping for a Christmas themed case this time," _Castle continued reading. _"It was almost like this one was tailor-made for the reporter. She could just imagine what his reaction would be..."_

Kate had never been much for cuddling with a guy. Even with Royce, the only one that had even wanted to take her into his arms for any other reason than a preclude to intimacy, had made her feel smothered when he just wanted to hold her.

With Castle, though, she wanted the physical contact. Instead of feeling stifled, she felt connected. From the time she had pushed him against the wall in irritation that he put himself in danger during the Tisdale case to holding his hand while the bomb counted down the seconds, Kate realized now how often she had been subconsciously seeking out excuses to touch him. After that, it had switched to a conscious effort to resist the urge as much as she could.

_"'Crime scene, Rook,' Heat snapped, 'a little respect here.'"_

Kate couldn't contain her giggle when Castle read that part. She remembered all too well saying that to Castle. Castle stopped reading for a moment and kissed her on the cheek, murmuring, "Love you," into her ear before continuing.

_" 'Come on, Heat,' Rook defended himself. 'A grandmother getting run over by reindeer? And you think I'm not going to make a joke about it? How long have you known me?'_

_'Yeah, well, those reindeer were pulling a sleigh being driven by _someone_, and you're not going to convince me it was Santa Claus.'_

_Rook gasped. "Of _course _it wasn't Santa Claus. Santa wouldn't hurt anyone!'_

_'I'm not going to argue the point, Rook,' Heat said tiredly. 'The important thing is to find our killer...'"_

**There have been so many Castle Christmas stories that it was difficult to think of an original case for 'Christmas Heat.' So I remembered the cartoon I love to watch every year, 'Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer' (no, she didn't get killed in the cartoon, or the song the cartoon is inspired by) and decided to use that.**

**So, what did you guys think? As always, please R&R.**

**Less than 24 hours before the wedding episode!**


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